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Best Mac for Darkbloom

Years for each Mac to earn back its price on Darkbloom. Day figures are the same as What each Mac earns. Updated . Electricity not included. Not a promise.

M5 Macs

  1. M5 Ultra 256 GBKnownMac Studio · Gemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$6.54$6.03 + $0.52 base4.0
  2. M5 Ultra 96 GBKnownMac Studio · Gemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$6.07$5.55 + $0.52 base2.5
  3. M5 Max 128 GBKnownMac Studio · Gemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$2.73$2.21 + $0.52 base5.4
  4. M5 Max 64 GBKnownMac Studio · Gemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$2.19$1.67 + $0.52 base4.8
  5. M5 Max 48 GBEstimatedMac Studio · Gemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$2.19$1.67 + $0.52 base4.3
  6. M5 Max 36 GBEstimatedMac Studio · Gemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$2.19$1.67 + $0.52 base3.1
  7. M5 Pro 64 GBKnownMac mini · Gemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.71$0.20 + $0.52 base10.4
  8. M5 Pro 48 GBKnownMac mini · Mixed models$0.94$0.42 + $0.52 base6.7
  9. M5 Pro 24 GBEstimatedMac mini · No paying modelunder $0.10Can’t run a paying model
  10. M5 32 GBEstimatedMixed models$0.94$0.42 + $0.52 base2.9 yrs per $1,000 paid
  11. M5 24 GBEstimatedNo paying modelunder $0.10Can’t run a paying model

M4 Macs

  1. M4 Max 128 GBKnownMixed models$0.70$0.18 + $0.52 base3.9 yrs per $1,000 paid
  2. M4 Max 64 GBKnownMixed models$0.63$0.12 + $0.52 base4.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  3. M4 Max 48 GBEstimatedQwen3.5 9B$0.52$0.00 + $0.52 base5.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  4. M4 Max 36 GBEstimatedQwen3.5 9B$0.52$0.00 + $0.52 base5.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  5. M4 Pro 64 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.58$0.06 + $0.52 base4.7 yrs per $1,000 paid
  6. M4 Pro 48 GBKnownMixed models$0.53$0.02 + $0.52 base5.2 yrs per $1,000 paid
  7. M4 Pro 24 GBEstimatedNo paying modelunder $0.10Can’t run a paying model
  8. M4 32 GBEstimatedgpt-oss 20B$0.53$0.01 + $0.52 base5.2 yrs per $1,000 paid
  9. M4 24 GBEstimatedgpt-oss 20B$0.53$0.01 + $0.52 base5.2 yrs per $1,000 paid

M3 Macs

  1. M3 Ultra 512 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$1.04$0.52 + $0.52 base2.6 yrs per $1,000 paid
  2. M3 Ultra 256 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.72$0.20 + $0.52 base3.8 yrs per $1,000 paid
  3. M3 Ultra 96 GBKnownMixed models$0.85$0.34 + $0.52 base3.2 yrs per $1,000 paid
  4. M3 Max 128 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.83$0.32 + $0.52 base3.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  5. M3 Max 64 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.83$0.32 + $0.52 base3.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  6. M3 Max 48 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.83$0.32 + $0.52 base3.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  7. M3 Max 36 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.83$0.32 + $0.52 base3.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  8. M3 Pro 36 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.83$0.32 + $0.52 base3.3 yrs per $1,000 paid

M2 Macs

  1. M2 Ultra 192 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.64$0.13 + $0.52 base4.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  2. M2 Ultra 128 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.64$0.13 + $0.52 base4.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  3. M2 Ultra 64 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.64$0.13 + $0.52 base4.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  4. M2 Max 96 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.57$0.05 + $0.52 base4.8 yrs per $1,000 paid
  5. M2 Max 64 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.57$0.05 + $0.52 base4.8 yrs per $1,000 paid
  6. M2 Max 32 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.57$0.05 + $0.52 base4.8 yrs per $1,000 paid
  7. M2 Pro 32 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.57$0.05 + $0.52 base4.8 yrs per $1,000 paid
  8. M2 24 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.57$0.05 + $0.52 base4.8 yrs per $1,000 paid

M1 Macs

  1. M1 Ultra 128 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.68$0.16 + $0.52 base4.1 yrs per $1,000 paid
  2. M1 Ultra 64 GBEstimatedGemma 4 26B 4-bit QAT$0.68$0.16 + $0.52 base4.1 yrs per $1,000 paid
  3. M1 Max 64 GBKnownMixed models$0.52$0.00 + $0.52 base5.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  4. M1 Max 32 GBEstimatedMixed models$0.52$0.00 + $0.52 base5.3 yrs per $1,000 paid
  5. M1 Pro 32 GBEstimatedQwen3.5 9B$0.52$0.00 + $0.52 base5.3 yrs per $1,000 paid

KnownEstimatedBest to worst day, 10-28 to 11-03 (UTC)Prices: Apple US list, checked 2026-11-04

New Macs show Apple’s US list price. For older Macs, type what you paid or would pay used. Known: what Darkbloom paid BloomGauge Macs of that type. Estimated: from Darkbloom’s network data or the nearest Mac. Pay depends on demand and can change a lot in a week, and more Macs joining can lower pay per Mac.

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